Miguel Almiron, Tito Villalba among Juan Carlos Osorio’s initial Paraguay callups

If Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron and Tito Villalba wanted an opportunity to make a strong first impression for Paraguay manager Juan Carlos Osorio, they won’t need to wait to do so. The former Mexico boss-turned new man in charge of La Albirroja has named his initial list of callups, and Almiron and Villalba are among the 23 players selected to train with the team.

Almiron has 12 appearances for the team since being called up for the first time in 2015; he has yet to score a goal for the senior side. Meanwhile, Villalba was eligible for selection for both his native Argentina and Paraguay, his father’s country of birth, and indeed applied for - and was granted - a one-time switch to Paraguay a few months ago.

Almiron and Villalba will be one of several MLS players on the training roster, with Cristian Parades (Portland), Jesus Medina (NYCFC), Kaku (Red Bulls) and Cristian Colman (FC Dallas) being the others. Paraguay don’t yet have any friendlies schedule for the next two international windows of October 8-16 and November 12-20, but it’s possible we should hear something in due time as Osorio weighs his options and gets a closer look at a side that shows plenty of promise.